County Championship 2005–06

Under 150

Leicestershire U150 – Nottinghamshire U150

Neil Graham

Two evenly matched sides met at Syston on 15 October 2005 with only seven grading points separating the 16 players when all the players’ grades had been added up. Well at least that was the theory – but in the words of Darth Vader ‘the force is strong in this one’ as Notts swept aside their East Midlands rivals by 11–4½, including a 10–2 drubbing for Leicestershire over the top 12 boards. With 14 of the 16 players who won the National Under 150 Championships selected for Notts, team spirit was clearly in evidence as the county side started the 2005–06 campaign in winning style. I can’t really pick out any individual performances, largely as I had a complex game that took up most of my attention, but I was most impressed by the way the final boards played on to take full points. Leicestershire gave us a tough match in the national semis last year and I am sure that they will bounce back from this setback. Nevertheless, this is just the start we needed with matches against Warwickshire, Greater Manchester and Staffordshire to come in what is always a closely contested zone.

Nottinghamshire U150 – Warwickshire U150

Neil Graham

Thirteen of the sixteen players who trounced Leicestershire in the opening match were in the team that met Warwickshire at Sherwood. Steve Hunter, Dick Edwards and Drag Sudar were in for Keith Walters, John Tassi and Mike Nailard to make up the team.

Warwickshire have always been competitive and I was rather surprised to see them bottom of the Midlands zone last year with their exceptionally strong side.

This time they took an early lead after losses from George Murfet and Kevin Harvey, and although Stan Cranmer played a strong combinative game to pull back a point, Warwicks continued to pile up wins, with only Sean Foreman and Keith Brameld replying.

With three matches remaining their lead was 7½–5½. Last season we rescued any number of these with Houdini-like escapes. I really thought that perhaps we could do it again when Keith Roper’s opponent blundered horrendously, but this time it wasn’t to be. Tim Lane, who had saved the day in last year’s final, couldn't repeat the feat and his defeat meant the match was also lost. Marcel Taylor played on not knowing that the match was already lost and eventually his flag fell, thus giving Warwicks a deserved win.

We were in the same position last year and went on to win our last two matches, but the task facing us now is very much an uphill one.

Nottinghamshire U150 – Warwickshire U15019 November 2005

Board

Grade

Grade

1

Tim Lane

148

0–1

A. J. Singh

–

2

Brian Hayward

148

0–1

Mark Cundy

145

3

Sean Foreman

143

1–0

Murray David

142

4

Keith Brameld

142

1–0

Robert Wallman

140

5

Steve Hunter

140

½–½

Mike Maher

140

6

Kevin Harvey

138

0–1

Pablo Padilla

141

7

Dave Flynn

137

0–1

Gary Hope

141

8

Tony Wright

134

½–½

Thomas Robinson

139

9

Richard Edwards

136

0–1

Neil Clarke

139

10

Neil Graham

136

½–½

John Fahy

131

11

Stan Cranmer

132

1–0

Keith Thomas

131

12

George Murfet

131

0–1

Mike Biddle

127

13

Drag Sudar

131

½–½

Alan Burnett

127

14

Phil Morgan

128

½–½

Paul Hodgskin

125

15

Keith Roper

125

1–0

Philip Bull

123

16

Marcel Taylor

126

0–1

Chris Pitt

124

6½–9½

Nottinghamshire U150 – Greater Manchester U150

Neil Graham

This match ended in an 8–8 draw, although with three games to go Notts were leading by 7½–5½. However, time and the Laws of Chess conspired to prevent a Nottinghamshire victory. The match was notable for a high percentage of draws, some more hard-fought than others. Steve Hunter was the only Notts loser until the last three games. There were wins for David Toms, with a discovered check that forced mate, Phil Morgan, who won a piece, and Keith Roper, who comprehensively outmanoeuvred his opponent. With three games to go the score stood at 7½–5½.

At this point Tony Wright made a claim under Law 9.2, but unfortunately executed the move on the board. He therefore lost the right to claim under Law 9.4. His opponent refused to accept a draw proferred under the normal rules, and although Tony at first thought he had a perpetual check this proved incorrect and he eventually lost. Score: 7½–6½.

Then Keith Walters, who had been a pawn down for some time, found his opponent able to exchange rooks to leave Notts with a lost pawn ending. Score: 7½–7½.

Dave Flynn struggled past the first time control with seconds to spare. The match suddenly depended on his game. Dave firstly equalised and then won pawns in a queen and pawn ending and was two pawns up. If Dave had had 15 minutes left, I’m sure he’d have won – unfortunately he had closer to 15 seconds. The Manchester player took a perpetual check and the match was all square: score 8–8.

Nottinghamshire U150 – Greater Manchester U15014 January 2006

Board

Grade

Grade

1

Brian Hayward

148

½–½

Adam Tyton

148

2

Keith Brameld

142

½–½

Mick Norris

146

3

Keith Walters

140

0–1

Richard Glover

143

4

Steve Hunter

140

0–1

Marcial Flores

141

5

Kevin Harvey

138

½–½

Jon Lonsdale

139

6

Dave Flynn

137

½–½

Ghassan Ele Gehani

138

7

John Tassi

137

½–½

Chris Jardine

137

8

Tony Wright

134

0–1

Michael Compston

129

9

Neil Graham

136

½–½

Jim Nicholson

134

10

Bill Ray

135

½–½

Alan Edwards

136

11

Stan Cranmer

132

½–½

David Pardoe

130

12

David Toms

131

1–0

Mick Connor

129

13

George Murfet

131

½–½

Alan Beresford

124

14

Phil Morgan

128

1–0

Robert Glover

109

15

Keith Roper

125

1–0

Mick Connolly

117

16

Marcel Taylor

126

½–½

Chris Murfin

109

8–8

Staffordshire U150 – Nottinghamshire U150

Neil Graham

Notts had the bye in the fourth round of the above competition. Prior to the fourth round there were some 24 different possible outcomes, with all the five counties competing still in with a chance. The results from that round did not favour Notts – Leicestershire beat Warwickshire 8½–7½, whilst Staffordshire drew 8–8 with Greater Manchester. Without dwelling too much on the outcome of these matches, Notts entered the final round knowing that only a win against Staffordshire would suffice, but that their chances of progressing to the national finals were slim. The other remaining match was between Manchester and Leicestershire – a victory by either side would see them through to the final stages, whilst only the unlikeliest of results – a fourth successive draw for Manchester – would mean Notts could go forward. Warwickshire, meanwhile, could sit at home secure that despite their loss to Leicestershire they would qualify because of the arcane MCCU rules on tie breaks.

Notts were slightly weaker than normal and on paper the two teams were evenly matched; the grading difference between the teams being a matter of single points when added together. As it was, Notts took the lead and after eight results had established a 5½–2½ lead thanks to wins from Kevin Harvey and three Ashfield players. The half points continued to drift in, but Staffordshire started to pick up wins. After 13 boards were declared, the Notts lead had been cut to 7–6, with three Gambit players left to either win or lose the match. Drag Sudar duly obliged with a win and eventually Brian Hayward, realising we led 8–6, agreed the draw to give us the match. I’m afraid I sloped off home then, convinced that Tony Wright’s game would yield nothing more than a draw, only to find that he had engineered an unlikely win to give us a 9½–6½ victory.

Another unlikely scenario awaited me at home – Leicestershire and Greater Manchester had drawn their match after Leicestershire won three of the last four games to finish. Thus Notts had not only qualified, they had also retained the Midlands title. Here are the final placings:

Team

P

W

D

L

Pts

Tie break

1

Nottinghamshire

4

2

1

1

5

18–14

2

Warwickshire

4

2

1

1

5

17–13

3

Leicestershire

4

2

1

1

5

13–17

4

Greater Manchester

4

0

4

0

4

5

Staffordshire

4

0

1

3

1

The quarter-finals are on 20 May – hopefully we haven’t expended all our luck in the Midland stages.

Staffordshire U150 – Nottinghamshire U15018 March 2006

Board

Grade

Grade

1

Stephane Pedder

148

½–½

Tim Lane

148

2

Martyn Harris

145

½–½

Brian Hayward

148

3

Derek Laight

144

½–½

Steve Hunter

140

4

Philip Porter

140

1–0

Keith Walters

140

5

Andrew Leadbetter

137

0–1

Kevin Harvey

138

6

Frank Wood

137

½–½

John Tassi

137

7

Steve Hill

134

0–1

Tony Wright

134

8

Manoy Arora

133

0–1

Neil Graham

136

9

Diarmid Gibson

134

½–½

Bill Ray

135

10

Alex Pready

131

½–½

Stan Cranmer

132

11

Michael Roberts

130e

1–0

George Murfet

131

12

Robert Fell

126

0–1

Drag Sudar

131

13

Roger Grainger

125

0–1

Phil Morgan

128

14

Steve Harris

125e

1–0

Keith Roper

125

15

John Day

118

½–½

Austen Carlton

121

16

Bob Daniels

122

0–1

Bob Taylor

124

6½–9½

National Quarter-Final: Nottinghamshire U150 – Sussex U150

Ian Kingston

Neil Graham signed off his last report with the hope that the team hadn’t used up all its luck in the Midlands stages. I’m pleased to say that there was something still left in the tank, but as always seems to happen it was a close-run thing.

On paper there was practically nothing between the teams on the top eight boards, while on the bottom eight Notts had an advantage of over 10 grading points per player. But in truly perverse fashion, the top half yielded most of the points, while the bottom half struggled. As the afternoon wore on, the early lead established by Notts looked more and more fragile and thoughts began to turn to the possibility of resorting to board count to separate the teams. Notts reached 7½ points when Tony Wright demonstrated sound technique to win a nice bishop endgame and Steve Hunter successfully withstood some unpleasant pressure to secure a draw. That left Phil Morgan and David Toms to find half a point between them, as it was now becoming clear that the board count would be in our favour.

Phil had the exchange for a couple of pawns, and under normal circumstances a win was certainly possible. Unfortunately, he was desperately short of time, and his flag fell while he was definitely not worse. Meanwhile, David had fought back from being a piece for two pawns down, constructing an apparently impenetrable fortress. Somehow this transformed itself into an unclear queen and pawn endgame, but the Sussex player manoeuvred cleverly to set up a queen exchange that gained a crucial tempo in the ensuing pawn race.

And that was when our small reservoir of luck yielded its last drop of good fortune: in a straightforward endgame with no fewer than three winning plans from which to choose, David’s opponent opted for a fourth option that led to a simple K + h-pawn vs. K draw. Much relief all round, and fitting reward for the captain’s Herculean efforts in finding players.

Nottinghamshire U150 – Sussex U15020 May 2006

Board

Grade

Grade

1

Tim Lane

148

0–1

Jim Graham

148

2

Ian Kingston

144

1–0

Ray Williams

145

3

Keith Brameld

142

0–1

John Cannon

142

4

Steve Hunter

140

½–½

Anthony Higgs

140

5

Kevin Harvey

138

1–0

Alan Palmer

138

6

Dave Flynn

137

1–0

Jerry Stone

137

7

John Tassi

137

½–½

Keith Davies

135

8

Tony Wright

134

1–0

Peter Rayment

132

9

Neil Graham

136

½–½

Brian Izzard

130

10

Drag Sudar

131

½–½

Tim Woods

123

11

George Murfet

131

0–1

John Scholey

121

12

David Toms

131

½–½

Jamie Wilson

121

13

Phil Morgan

128

0–1

Graham Thomas

120

14

Shane Bhayat

127

0–1

Mick Plumb

113

15

Keith Roper

125

½–½

Paul Taylor

111

16

Marcel Taylor

126

1–0

Daniel Hirsch

110

8–8

Board count

37–42

National Semi-Final: Nottinghamshire U150 – Cambridgeshire U150

Neil Graham

Notts lost in the Under 150 semi-finals to Cambridgeshire by 9–7 at Northborough, Peterborough. Whilst this was a disappointing result, it underlines Notts competitiveness at this level:

2002–03

Midlands Champions

National Semi-finals

2003–04

Midlands Runners-up

National Semi-finals

2004–05

Midlands Champions

National Champions

2005–06

Midlands Champions

National Semi-finals

Unfortunately, several key team members – notably Keith Brameld, Tony Wright, Dave Flynn and Keith Roper – were unavailable for this vital match. Whilst other squad members were back, I normally look to the above four players for full points. In addition, I found myself two players short on the morning of the match, one player dropping out after an unexpected death in his close family on Saturday night. I am indebted to Ian Nicholson and Ray Sayer who stood in at the last minute.

We faced Cambridgeshire at the same stage two years ago and then were comprehensively beaten 10–6 as the East Anglian side went on to win the final. Last year we had three strong juniors in the squad, but this time round we had to depend on pensioner power to pull us through. Unfortunately, although we were stronger on the upper boards, the last six boards yielded only two draws. The score was 6–6 after 12 games but towards the end the positions slipped away, with Tim Lane’s top board win a mere consolation. If one board had gone the other way we would have again romped home on board count, but as Ian Kingston remarked last time, the luck reservoir had clearly run dry after our last two matches.

Ian Kingston adds:

There was always a sense that we were in trouble in this match – at no stage did we ever take the lead, although we were never, until close to the end, more than a point behind. We were also giving away an average of three grading points per board, but Ray Sayer showed how little that can mean with his draw on bottom board.

With three games remaining we trailed by a point and needed to find two points to secure a win on board count, but we were obviously losing on two boards, with only Tim Lane having serious winning prospects. As it turned out, Tim displayed excellent technique to win a rook and pawn endgame, but the other games had already been lost.

Nottinghamshire U150 – Cambridgeshire U15011 June 2006

Board

Grade

Grade

1

Tim Lane

148

1–0

John Bell

146

2

Brian Hayward

148

0–1

Nigel Holroyd

145

3

Ian Kingston

144

1–0

Richard Donaghay

144

4

Steve Hunter

140

1–0

John Daugman

144

5

Kevin Harvey

138

½–½

Stephen Pride

143

6

John Tassi

137

½–½

Colin Byrne

141

7

Keith Walters

142

½–½

Peter Wagner

141

8

Neil Graham

136

0–1

Patrick Ribbands

141

9

Richard Edwards

135

1–0

Bernard Duff

140

10

Stan Cranmer

132

½–½

Richard Newman

140

11

Ian Nicholson

132

0–1

Mike Bradley

132

12

David Toms

131

0–1

Phil Turp

135

13

George Murfet

131

0–1

Stephen Hart

132

14

Phil Morgan

128

0–1

Peter Barkas

129

15

Marcel Taylor

126

½–½

Glyn Ward

127

16

Ray Sayer

109

½–½

Patrick Heneghan

126

7–9

Under 125

Nottinghamshire U125 B – Nottinghamshire U125 A

Derek Cronshaw

Goose Fair traffic delayed the start of this chess battle, where 13 junior talents were on display.

A very closely contested match resulted in a 7½–7½ draw. With two games to go, Notts B needed two wins to level the match, which they proceeded to do.

The junior players scored a total of 7 wins, 5 against very experienced adults, and demonstrated skill, knowledge and enthusiasm. It was a real pleasure to see the tigerish attacking skills of Eric Williamson; the methodical endgame technique of Amarjit Mann; and the mastery of strategy and tactics of Toby Thurgood. Our two ladies (girls) battled it out on Board 4, Anjai Lakhani proving the winner on this occasion.

Notts is very fortunate to have such talent. They are so calm and confident! They might be young but they are mature chess players.

Derbyshire U125 – Nottinghamshire U125 B

Neil Graham

Derbyshire had begun the Under 125 zonal matches by playing with only 14 players against Leicestershire and being comprehensively beaten. Against Nottinghamshire B, the home side were one player over-subscribed but were still outgraded throughout. Nottinghamshire were eventually all present, including one player who had forgotten but was, fortunately, local, and an extra player who turned up at Syston!

However, the vagaries of the grading system were, as usual, highlighted in that Notts had a last-gasp victory. The match started well enough with a quick win for Jonathan Day, and soon Notts had established a 3½–½ lead. Then the results began to change – top board Bob Taylor capitulated and Ian Harris, who had been a piece down for a considerable time, also lost, and by the time 12 boards were declared, Derbyshire had taken a 6½–5½ lead after several prospective extra half points looked to have been lost by the visitors. However, both Graham Gibson and Richard Myers converted their advantages to wins and then Colin Tribe drew in a game of fluctuating fortunes to give Notts an 8–7 lead.

The final game to finish involved Alan Robinson and Roger Walker. Alan’s clock management had just about seen him through the first time control, but resulted in the loss of a piece immediately afterwards. With two advancing central connected passed pawns, the Ashfield player managed to create enough threats to force his opponent to repeat moves with only seconds left on the Nottinghamshire clock. A more mercenary opponent could well have played on secure in the knowledge that there was insufficient time for Alan to have done anything other than lose on time. So a win for Notts B, with Leicestershire to play in a qualifying decider.

Finally, the player from Syston, Hamzah Ali, did arrive at the venue and played a graded game with Derbyshire’s extra player, which the Nottinghamshire junior won. The mix-up was entirely due to a communication problem between the captain and the player’s parents and my inability to remember the difference between Leicestershire and Derbyshire.

Leicestershire U125 – Nottinghamshire U125 A

Two closely matched sides played out an appropriately close contest at Syston on 29 October. All games were keenly contested; our top boards did us proud by scoring 4½ points out of a possible 7.

The Notts captain scored an early win after offering a pawn for a ferocious attack and other wins were scored by Mick Harper, Len Darby and Darran Ince, until, with two games to go, we needed 1 point to secure the match. Dave Dunne did for his opponent (pun intended) and it was left to our young Vietnamese star, Gavin, to demonstrate his exemplary endgame technique in a same-colour bishop ending.

Leicestershire U125 – Nottinghamshire U125 A29 October 2005

Board

Grade

Grade

1

P. Harrison

124

½–½

M. Nailard

121

2

L. Turner

124

0–1

M. N. Nguyen

–

3

T. Lee

122

½–½

A. Carlton

121

4

C. Johnson

119

0–1

D. Ince

119

5

A. Robinson

117

1–0

R. Willoughby

111

6

S. Smith

117

0–1

M. Harper

107

7

R. Toon

110

½–½

D. Griffiths

106

8

D. Ward

109

1–0

I. Fillingham

103

9

R. Stone

103

1–0

Default

10

P. Cresswell

105

0–1

D. Cronshaw

105

11

T. Pinckard

107

1–0

D. Lin

104

12

B. Radesk

101

0–1

D. Dunne

99

13

G. Hewitt

100

½–½

O. Exton

98

14

T. Clay

96

0–1

L. Darby

97

15

R. King

88

1–0

E. Williamson

96

16

S. Preocanin

78

½–½

P. Smith

87

7½–8½

Nottinghamshire U125 A – Derbyshire U125

Derek Cronshaw

The U125 A team moved smoothly into the semi-final of the MCCU championship, beating a Derbyshire team which had struggled for players 11–5, losing only two games. Notts’ bottom 9 boards amassed 8½ points and the top boards more than held their own. Well done everybody!

The semi-final will be on 28 Jan vs. Staffordshire. Please reserve the date.

Nottinghamshire U125 A – Derbyshire U1253 December 2005

Board

Grade

Grade

1

M. Nailard

121

½–½

D. Hoddy

124

2

A. Carlton

121

½–½

R. Woods

110

3

D. Ince

119

½–½

P. O'Flanagan

114

4

P. Burley

115

½–½

J. Kelsall

110

5

M. Harper

107

1–0

L. Alldread

104

6

D. Griffiths

106

0–1

R. Harrison

97

7

L. Bowen

106

½–½

G. Pace

96

8

T. Thurgood

105

1–0

P. Sheldon

89

9

I. Fillingham

103

0–1

H. Bradbury

88

10

D. Cronshaw

105

1–0

H. Loomes

87

11

J. Yang

104

1–0

P. Ellis

85

12

D. Lin

104

1–0

M. Orridge

84

13

L. Darby

97

1–0

P. Smith

78

14

P. Smith

87

1–0

H. Ratner

76

15

D. Blampied

66

1–0

D. Jeffrey

–

16

A. Alfred

–

½–½

J. Morrell

–

11–5

Nottinghamshire U125 B – Leicestershire U125

Neil Graham

Notts B lost to Leicestershire by 10 boards to 6 on Saturday. Despite being outgraded throughout Notts held their local rivals on the top ten boards but could only score one point in the lower order. Leicestershire took an early 5–2 lead and although the score was pegged back to 5–4, Leicester then made a match-winning surge. This means that Notts B, who had to win the match, are eliminated.

Final scores:

P

W

D

L

Pts

Notts A

3

2

1

0

5

Leics

3

2

0

1

4

Notts B

3

1

1

1

3

Derbys

3

0

0

3

0

The B team introduced a number of younger players who performed exceptionally in addition to plenty of experienced players. No games were defaulted at all.

The East Midlands matches were affected by the inclusion of a player who clearly was ineligible for this competition; his strength was unknown before the season and it is unfortunate that his results were instrumental in deciding the matches in which he played. The results of the two Nottinghamshire sides has shown that the county can compete at this level and it is hoped that the A team can now progress into the national stages.

Nottinghamshire U125 B – Leicestershire U1253 December 2005

Board

Grade

Grade

1

Bob Taylor

124

0–1

Steve Wylie

123

2

Benny Lim

120

0–1

Peter Harrison

124

3

Alan Robinson

114

½–½

Lewis Turner

124

4

Anjali Lakhani

101

0–1

John Manger

124

5

Ray Sayer

109

1–0

Cyril Johnson

119

6

Alan Morrey

108

½–½

Chris Graves

119

7

Richard Myers

107

1–0

Anthony Robinson

117

8

Norman Davies

104

1–0

Stephen Smith

117

9

Patrick Allen

102

½–½

Roy Toon

110

10

Graham Gibson

99

½–½

David Ward

109

11

Amar Mann

95

0–1

Lea Adlard

107

12

Barry Redburn

95

0–1

Tom Pinckard

107

13

Chris Heining

94

0–1

Andy Johnson

101

14

Paul Todd

85

0–1

Graham Hewitt

100

15

Hamzah Ali

75

1–0

Robert Stone

103

16

Edwin Justice

76

0–1

Paul Clark

90

6–10

Nottinghamshire U125 A – Staffordshire U125

Derek Cronshaw

The Notts U125 A team won their semi-final match against Staffs by 9–7 at Spondon on 28 January and will play Warwickshire in the Midlands final.

Outgraded on all but two boards, the performance of the top four boards and of the juniors was noteworthy. Rob Willoughby made a welcome return to form, defeating Staffs’ highest graded player, whilst his fellow club member, Phillip Burley, used the Morra Gambit to good effect against a very defensively minded player. Mike Nailard’s was the first game to finish: a kingside attack winning the exchange and leaving two rooks dominant on the 7th. The ever-reliable Austin Carlton turned in a solid draw – three and a half points out of four!

More than a quarter of the team is made up of juniors: I am very proud of them and so is Notts. Toby Thurgood played an English Opening with great positional insight and was coolness itself under mate-in-one threats. Oliver Exton won a sharp dynamic tactical battle and Ted Pynegar made his opponent fight every inch of a long battle, only to be defeated by the clock in the end. Daniel Lin was the first to post a win, his opponent having locked his keys in his car and failing to make the venue. Daniel’s smile said it all, and was a great morale booster. Eric Williamson played a difficult minor piece ending that was admired and praised by the senior players of both teams for its maturity and skill. Well done lads!

Please note the date of the final: Saturday 25 February.

Nottinghamshire U125 A – Staffordshire U12528 January 2006

Board

Grade

Grade

1

M. Nailard

121

1–0

J. Day

118

2

A. Carlton

121

½–½

S. Harris

120

3

P. Burley

115

1–0

K. Francis

116

4

R. Willoughby

111

1–0

R. Daniels

122

5

M. Harper

107

0–1

P. Leary

118

6

L. Bowen

106

0–1

D. Daniels

115

7

T. Thurgood

105

½–½

M. Wotton

113

8

D. Cronshaw

105

1–0

G. Rosser

113

9

D. Lin

104

1–0

Default

–

10

I. Fillingham

103

0–1

A. Stott

110

11

D. Dunne

99

½–½

A. Dobson

104

12

O. Exton

98

1–0

P. Broomhall

104

13

L. Darby

97

½–½

J. Montague

104

14

E. Pynegar

96

0–1

K. Jones

100

15

E. Williamson

96

1–0

S. Cooksey

100

16

P. Smith

87

0–1

P. Shaw

98

9–7

MCCU U125 final: Nottinghamshire U125 A – Warwickshire U125

Nottinghamshire fell at the final hurdle in their bid to capture the U125 title, but nevertheless reached the national stage of the competition.

Nottinghamshire U125 A – Warwickshire U12525 February 2006

Board

Grade

Grade

1

A. Carlton

121

0–1

C. Pitt

124

2

M. Nailard

121

0–1

P. Bull

123

3

D. Ince

119

½–½

M. Walker

121

4

P. Burley

115

0–1

A. Draper

119

5

R. Willoughby

111

1–0

J. Asbury

117

6

M. Harper

107

0–1

D. Lee

117

7

L. Messam-Sparks

107

0–1

L. Rawson

115

8

D. Griffiths

106

½–½

J. Murray

110

9

L. Bowen

105

0–1

D. Seale

–

10

D. Lin

104

½–½

J. Llewellyn

109

11

I. Fillingham

103

0–1

K. Warren

106

12

E. Williamson

96

1–0

R. Anderton

103

13

J. Day

95

1–0

C. Lee

97

14

L. Morrell

89

½–½

A. Jones

98

15

P. Smith

87

0–1

K. Gilbert

94

16

J. Buttery

84

1–0

D. McCarthy

87

6–10

National U125 preliminary round: Nottinghamshire U125 A – Sussex U125

Derek Cronshaw

Without eight of the players who taken the team to the Midlands final, Notts A were seriously handicapped in their match against Sussex, on 29 April. The win on board count therefore, against stronger opposition, was a real achievement for all the players involved. Games were evenly contested throughout, but of particular importance were the late draws from Ken Heath and Darran Ince, and a fine win in a complex game by Rob Willoughby. Well done everybody!

Nottinghamshire U125 A – Sussex U12529 April 2006

Board

Grade

Grade

1

A. Carlton

121

½–½

D. Hirsch

110

2

D. Ince

119

½–½

J. Wilson

121

3

P. Burley

115

½–½

G. Thomas

120

4

R. Willoughby

111

1–0

R. Jones

112

5

T. Thurgood

105

0–1

R. Fisher

121

6

D. Lin

104

1–0

M. Plumb

113

7

J. Yang

104

1–0

R. Waddingham

104

8

B. Hobson

104

½–½

R. Hunt

112

9

D. Cronshaw

105

1–0

N. Carter

100

10

I. Fillingham

103

1–0

C. Linnett

105

11

D. Dunne

99

0–1

D. Grant

103

12

Ed Pynegar

96

½–½

E. Hillier

106

13

L. Morrell

89

0–1

R. Cumming

98

14

P. Smith

86

0–1

H. Gold

102

15

D. Blampied

66

0–1

D. Wallis

99

16

K. Heath

64

½–½

N. Mansfield

77

8–8

National Quarter-Final: Nottinghamshire U125 – Bedfordshire U125

Derek Cronshaw

Neil Graham and Mike Barnes worked wonders to produce 3 teams for Saturday 20 May. It seemed that everyone who could push a pawn was pressed into service, from baby-faced assassins to grizzled veterans. In the U125 match, Henry Pynegar and Michael Zhang, who don’t yet play regular league chess, got us off to a flying start and for a time it looked as though we might pull off the impossible. However the odds proved too great and we eventually lost, 9–7.

Ah, well; it will have to be the World Cup...

Nottinghamshire U125 A – Bedfordshire U12520 May 2006

Board

Grade

Grade

1

Mike Nailard

121

½–½

John Harbour

120

2

Rob Willoughby

111

½–½

George Ward

123

3

Mick Harper

107

½–½

Mark Atlay

120

4

Toby Thurgood

105

0–1

Pierre Casaubeith

105

5

Daniel Lin

104

0–1

Mike Botteley

112e

6

Ben Hobson

104

1–0

Les Mabb

112

7

Jixin Yang

104

0–1

Nigel Staddon

112

8

Derek Cronshaw

105

1–0

Chuck Robbins

111

9

Oliver Exton

98

1–0

Barry McLoughlin

109

10

David Dunne

99

½–½

Jon Bilsberry

109

11

Len Morell

89

0–1

Colin Solloway

107

12

Peter Smith

87

0–1

Kevin Bryant

107

13

Ebrahim Fredricks

80

0–1

Mark Puffett

102

14

Henry Pynegar

75

1–0

Turner Suvek

100e

15

John Buttery

84

0–1

Jack Tattersall

97

16

Michael Zhang

–

1–0

Peter Housden

89

7–9

Under 100

Nottinghamshire U100 – Warwickshire U100

Nottinghamshire U100 – Warwickshire U10019 November 2005

Board

Grade

Grade

1

Graham Gibson

99

0–1

Adrian Hussain

97

2

David Dunne

99

0–1

Lennie Johnson

95

3

Len Morrell

89

1–0

Kim Gilbert

94

4

Matthew Moore

88

1–0

Graham Gee

92

5

Peter Smith

87

½–½

Ken Wise

87

6

Paul Todd

85

1–0

John Burke

86

7

John Buttery

84

0–1

John Pakenham

82

8

Ebrahim Fredricks

80

½–½

Doug Cooper

75

9

Dorothy Blampied

66

1–0

Peter Hodkinson

74

10

Terry Norris-Hunt

71

½–½

Bram Garner

69

11

Tracey Clegg

49

0–1

Steven Bower

–

12

Ken Heath

64

0–1

Adam Parkinson

–

5½–6½

Leicestershire U100 B – Nottinghamshire U100

Leicestershire U100 B – Nottinghamshire U10026 November 2005

Board

Grade

Grade

1

Frank S. Hilford

97

0–1

David Dunne

99

2

Tom Lester

81

0–1

Graham Gibson

99

3

Alan Butler

80

0–1

Eric Williamson

96

4

Stephen Tatlow

39

0–1

Len Darby

97

5

Stan Parsons

75

0–1

Amar Mann

95

6

Edris Kibalama

–

1–0

Len Morrell

89

7

Richard Davis

73

1–0

Matthew Moore

88

8

Peter Wood

66

½–½

Peter Smith

87

9

Don Lockton

63

0–1

John Buttery

84

10

Default

–

0–1

Hamzah Ali

E75

11

Keval Rughani

50

0–1

Terry Norris-Hunt

71

12

Peter Poolan

–

1–0

Tracy Clegg

49

3½–8½

Leicestershire U100 A – Nottinghamshire U100

Leicestershire U100 A – Nottinghamshire U10014 January 2006

Board

Grade

Grade

1

Jeff Toon

98

0–1

Jonathan Day

99

2

Mike Thornton

96

0–1

Graham Gibson

99

3

Darren Poulacheris

92

0–1

David Dunne

99

4

Howard Walden

–

½–½

Oliver Exton

98

5

Richard Smith

98

0–1

Len Darby

97

6

Terry Clay

96

1–0

Eric Williamson

96

7

John Leonard

–

0–1

Ted Pynegar

96

8

Stewart Hollingworth

–

½–½

Len Morrell

89

9

Ray Walker

91

½–½

Peter G. Smith

87

10

George Winterton

85

0–1

Paul Todd

85

11

Stevan Preocanin

78

1–0

John Buttery

84

12

John Creasey

86

1–0

Hamzah Ali

E75

4½–7½

Worcestershire U100 A – Nottinghamshire U100

Len Darby

A good win by Notts with a slightly weakened team, but again the juniors played very well. Hamzah Ali finished first, closely followed by Oliver Exton. Then, after that what seemed a lifetime, Eric Williamson and Len Morrell both won pawn endings. Jonathan Day and Ted Pynegar both won well and the match was ours. It is always nice to be a winning captain (acting), but why doesn’t every team play in grade order like Notts?

PS from Michael Barnes: Thanks to Len, Peter Smith and Len Morrell for driving and Len for assistance before and on the day.

Worcestershire U100 A – Nottinghamshire U10011 February 2006

Board

Grade

Grade

1

John Loynes

93

0–1

Jonathan Day

99

2

Ian Ellis

98

0–1

Graham Gibson

99

3

Terry Pountney

96

1–0

David Dunne

99

4

Michelle Clark

95

0–1

Oliver Exton

98

5

Maureen Clark

94

½–½

Len Darby

97

6

Derek Digger

98

0–1

Eric Williamson

96

7

Bert Foord

95

0–1

Ted Pynegar

96

8

Penny Wood

94

0–1

Len Morrell

89

9

William Pugh

85

1–0

Matthew Moore

88

10

Fred Freshwater

90

½–½

Peter G. Smith

87

11

Ashley Davis

–

0–1

Hamzah Ali

75

12

Martin Boreley

84

1–0

Ashton Alfred

E60

4–8

MCCU U100 Final: Shropshire U100 – Nottinghamshire U100

Michael Barnes

Two evenly matched teams met in the MCCU final. This was shown by the closely fought games, with the result only decided just before the first time control.

Ted Pynegar won first with his usual steady play. This cancelled out a couple of games which were going against us. Ken Heath, who stepped in at 10:30 due to illness (thanks again Ken), fought back well to win. Paul Todd’s opponent played better than any 82 I’ve seen. Len and Oliver both drew a pawn down. Once the match was decided, Peter Smith gave his opponent a draw.

Congratulations to Shropshire.

Notts U100 will now play the winners of the SCCU on 20 May in the National quarter-final. Opponents and venue to be decided.

Shropshire U100 – Nottinghamshire U10018 March 2006

Board

Grade

Grade

1

R. Brown

94

1–0

Jonathan Day

99

2

C. Lewis

97

1–0

Graham Gibson

99

3

D. Oguhside

99

0–1

David Dunne

99

4

K. Grice

95

½–½

Oliver Exton

98

5

Ian Davies

92

½–½

Len Darby

97

6

D. Powell

92

0–1

Ted Pynegar

96

7

G. Hampson

85

½–½

Len Morrell

89

8

A. Pickles

86

½–½

Peter G. Smith

87

9

S. Davies

82

1–0

Paul Todd

85

10

A. Taylor

83

1–0

John Buttery

84

11

I. Fenton

82

1–0

Hamzah Ali

75

12

H. Graham

–

0–1

Ken Heath

64

7–5

National Quarter-Final: Essex U100 – Nottinghamshire U100

Michael Barnes

Firstly thank you to all who played for both the U125 and U100 teams, often at short notice.

The clash with the U125 match meant that eight players under 100 were not available. Also, the time of year meant that several people were on holiday or playing cricket. So a much weakened team were playing against a team with a lowest grade of 87. We were outgraded by an average of 16 points a board.

All players fought right to the end and made it as difficult as possible for their opponents, which is great for the whole team. First to finish was Andrew Garside, who won well against a 92 grade who several times told me he couldn’t believe how good he is. Ashton only lost to a one move blunder after being about equal after 25 moves. Ken on bottom board played steadily and got what turned out to be a crucial half point. Graham Gibson played one of the best five games of his life to destroy his opponent. Clifford won after being a piece down.

When the dust settled we needed one point from the last two games. Edwin Justice defended really well in a difficult position for about two hours when his phone rang after it had switched itself on in his pocket, resulting in an automatic default. Really unfortunate. Jonathan Day was a pawn up in a rook ending, but with split pawns. He lost one but outplayed his opponent in superb fashion to win.

So the semi-final is on Sunday 11 June vs. Norfolk (probably) at 1 p.m. at Peterborough (to avoid the England World Cup match on Saturday). This will be the same venue as the U150 match vs. Cambridgeshire.

I now face the problem of who to leave out, as many regular players who played for the U125 team are now available. I thank all who played and apologise if anyone is offended.